


Baking for a Birthday

by RaylenX



Series: Intended Coincidences [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Big Birthday Bash, Bucky's birthday, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Natasha Is a Good Bro, Steve and Bucky are best friends with Natasha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-03-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 08:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3522779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaylenX/pseuds/RaylenX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky's birthday was coming up, and Steve wanted to bake him a cake. That was easier said than done, however.</p><p>Another mini-sequel for the series, but can also be read as a standalone story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baking for a Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> After Tumblr reminded me that Bucky's birthday was 10th March, I decided that I wanted to write something short and fluffy for the occasion, and to get some writing practice in, in hopes of getting out of my current writer's block. Happy Birthday, Bucky.
> 
> I've put this in as part of the series, but it mainly references [Gifts of Coincidences](2748122) through a mention of Bucky's baking. Otherwise, it can pretty much be read as a standalone story.
> 
> Once again, unbeta'd, so apologies for any glaring mistakes.

Steve glared at the mixing bowl like it had mortally offended him. Baking wasn't supposed to be _this_ difficult.

Bucky had learnt fairly quickly after all, starting with those cookies that he had made for Natasha. And it hadn't stopped there. That success had sparked off a month long baking frenzy, with Bucky trying his hand at making all sorts of baked goods. Word of his new found passion reached every corner of the Avenger’s Tower fairly rapidly, and for that month, it had become commonplace to find some sort of freshly baked snack waiting in a random office in the tower (Bucky found it fun to combine his baking skills with his sneaking skills apparently). 

While that initial enthusiasm in baking had died down somewhat, Bucky still baked occasionally, and the Avengers had actually held their very first charity bake sale (headed by Bucky, of course) just a week ago.

With Bucky’s birthday coming up, Steve had wanted to bake a cake for the occasion as a surprise. Yes, he could have simply gone to the shops to buy one, but after seeing Bucky’s new found love for baking, Steve wanted to show his appreciation of his boyfriend’s skills.

Which was why he was standing in their kitchen, glaring at a mixing bowl.

Bucky had made it look _easy_ , improving from that initial batch of cookies at a surprising rate (he had very few failures after the first ones). Granted, Bucky had always been the better cook between the two of them, but what they had to cook with in the 1920s and 1930s was completely different from what they had now, so Steve didn't really think that it would have made a big difference in their current cooking skill levels. It seemed that he was quite wrong. It didn't help that Steve never really got into Bucky’s baking frenzy, only helping out at the sidelines while Bucky did all the heavy lifting.

Steve sighed and glanced at the wall clock. He had about an hour till Bucky was due to finish his weekly therapy appointment, and with his current cake making attempt going nowhere, he was going to need quite a bit more time.

Wiping his hands clean, he picked up his phone from the counter and dialed.

“Hey Natasha, I need a favor.” Steve spoke, holding the phone with one hand while he used the other to search through the cupboard for more baking supplies. “I’m going to need a diversion.”

 

* * *

 

Bucky had hated his therapy sessions when he had first returned, but over the many months of recovery and living at the tower, he had gotten used to them. He had seen the usefulness of the sessions, and his current therapist was quite a nice lady, so he didn't quite mind going for them. He still didn't quite _like_ them however, so he was pretty keen on getting back to the floor he shared with Steve for a much needed boyfriend cuddle session.

The moment he had stepped out of the office however, he spotted Natasha leaning casually on the door opposite.

“I’m in the mood to do some shopping,” She stated without preamble. “Come with?”

Bucky frowned. Natasha usually went shopping with Pepper or Clint, and rarely with him (Or Steve), because she had implied that his fashion sense was limited to either combat armor or tailored suits. Bucky protested that point frequently, because he was fairly sure that he was a very fashionable person. It wasn't his fault that he happened to look _really_ good in suits or in his redesigned armor; After all, Steve loved seeing him in both. And getting him out of both, for that matter.

But before he could think about it further, Natasha was already pulling him along. Not really having anything else to do that day, and not really minding either, he just let himself be pulled along.

“Let me just - ” Bucky indicated to his pocket where he kept his phone, wanting to send a quick message to Steve to let him know that he would be going out, but Natasha interrupted him.

“No need to worry, I've already told him.”

“I need - ” Bucky started, as he considered his current outfit while they waited for the lift.

“Got you a cap.” Natasha pre-empted him again, pulling out a baseball cap seemingly out of nowhere.

Bucky quirked an eyebrow at her bemusedly. “You sure are prepared.”

Natasha shrugged. “When am I not?”

The lift arrived then, and they stepped inside.

 

* * *

 

Steve narrowed his eyes frustratedly at the mess that most definitely _wasn't_ a cake. It had been a series of annoying failures after another, but Steve wasn't about to give up. This was just another challenge, and if Steve Rogers could do one thing, it was to overcome challenges.

He needed more time.

Reaching for his phone once more, he fired off a quick series of messages.

 

* * *

 

Bucky spent a surprisingly good afternoon shopping with Natasha, and they had left the department store with a sizable number of bags (while spending quite a bit more money than Bucky was comfortable with). Now, they were seated at a cafe, Bucky lounging casually while Natasha typed rapidly into her phone.

“Did something come up?”

Natasha shook her head, replying even as she continued to type. “No, it’s nothing really. It’s just Barton pestering me to go down to the range with him. Says that he has new arrows that he wants to try out. Again.”

Bucky laughed. “Are they better than the boomerang ones that he was trying out the last time? The ones that were supposed to bounce around like Steve’s shield, but just ended up ricocheting everywhere?”

Natasha shrugged, not looking up from her phone. “Want to go see?”

“Sure.” Bucky replied, “Let me just - ”

“Already done.” Natasha waved her phone at him.

Bucky huffed. “You know me too well, Tasha.”

“I am your best friend after all, Barnes.” Natasha smirked. “Only Steve knows you better.”

Bucky conceded the point with a shrug, and got up to head back to the tower to look for Clint.

 

* * *

 

It took another three tries and two hours, but Steve was finally done with the cake. It wasn't perfect, but it looked pretty good, and Steve was fairly satisfied with his work. He just hoped that Bucky would like it.

He typed another message to Natasha and Clint, then proceeded to clean up the kitchen, which had started to resemble a war zone, with the amount of cake batter, flour, and icing sugar that covered the place.

 

* * *

 

Bucky was in the midst of attempting to use one of Clint’s bows to prove his own shooting skills to his fellow sniper when his phone started ringing.

He handed the weapon over to Natasha, who had been watching their ‘competition’ with amusement, and pulled out his phone, smiling a little when he saw Steve’s name on the screen.

“Hey Steve, miss me already?”

 

* * *

 

“Of course I miss your ugly mug, Bucky” Steve replied, even as he put away the last of the baking supplies that he had used. “You've spent most of today with Natasha and Clint.”

“No, I’m not jealous.” He laughed at Bucky’s response. “But I have something to show you, so come up soon?”

 

* * *

 

Bucky had been intrigued by Steve's words, so he had not stayed long after ending the call with his boyfriend, leaving his friends in the range while he headed back upstairs. When the lift doors opened at their shared floor, Bucky was somewhat surprised to find the lights turned off.

“Steve?” He called out.

“I’m in the kitchen.” Came Steve’s reply.

Curious, Bucky headed over, and came upon the sight of a lovely (if very obviously homemade) cake, and Steve, looking somewhat apprehensive, standing just behind it. The candles were already lit.

“You made a cake for me?” Bucky asked, feeling surprised. “But you never liked to bake with me.”

“Well, I still don’t really like it.” Steve confessed, looking a little sheepish. “But I know how much you like baking now, so I wanted to make you something.”

Bucky smiled, pointing at the cake. “Might be able to convert you yet.”

“Maybe…” Steve shrugged, running a hand through his hair. “You’ll still have to convince me.”

“One day I will.” Bucky’s grin widened, and he pulled Steve towards him for a kiss.

“Happy Birthday, Buck.” Steve murmured against his lips when they parted.

“Thanks, Steve.”

 

* * *

END

 

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment or a kudo if you liked the story ~
> 
> You can also come find me on [Tumblr](http://raylenx.tumblr.com/), where I post so much Stucky.


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